Weighted shoe hanger



s- 958 B. F. SHELL 2,846,111

WEIGHTED SHOE HANGER Filed May 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

1958 B. F. SHELL 2,846,111

WEIGHTED SHOE HANGER Filed May 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent WEIGHTED SHOE HANGER Bernice Foil Shell, Houston, Tex., assignor to Graver Tank & Mfg. Co., Inc., East Chicago, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application May 15, 1957, Serial No. 659,378

4 Claims. (Cl. 220-26) The invention relates to field storage tanks employing floating roofs and particularly to a novel hanger arrangement associated therewith.

The invention comprehends a field storage tank of the open top variety having a roof arranged to float on product stored in the tank. Arrangements of this type provide an annular space between the roof and the tank shell to accommodate roof movement within the tank, and, as is well known in the art, it is desirable and necessary to provide a sealing arrangement having flexible characteristics to close this annular space and thereby avoid unreasonable escape of product due to vaporization.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an under seal counterweighted shoe hanger arranged to support a sealing shoe from the floating roof while accommodating relative movement between the shell and the roof and yet maintain the peripheral shoes in substantially horizontal alignment and firm contact especially at the top edge of the shoe and under all conditions of roof movement.

The invention accomplishes the desired result by providing a plurality of hangers each having the upper end pivotally connected to the shoe and the lower end in a particular pin and slot engagement with a bracket secured to the roof adjacent the bottom thereof. The additional utilization of a counterweight arranged to operatively engage the lower end of the hanger and combined with a critically located fulcrum point provides the desired operation. These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description and from an examination of the concerned drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary sectional elevational view illustrating the arrangement of the parts in association with the hanger,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l, but showing one of the pusher arms employed in the arrangement,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Figure l, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of Figure 3.

Describing the invention in detail and directing attention first to Figure 1, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the field storage tank comprises a cylindrical shell 4 and a floating roof, indicated generally at 6, disposed therein. The roof 6 is provided with a rim plate 8 normally spaced from the shell 4 and defining an annular rim space S therebetween. In order to seal the space S a plurality of shoes 10, usually of thin, somewhat flexible, metallic material are preferably arranged around the roof 6 to form a ring in abutting engagement with the inner periphery of the shell 4. To support the rings and particularly the individually connected shoes v 10, a plurality of brackets 14 are afiixed to the shoes 10 adjacent the upper edge thereof. The brackets 14 are, of course, horizontally aligned around the entire ring. Each bracket 14 is pivotally connected as at 16 to the upper end of a hanger or hanger arm 18, said hanger 18 angling downwardly and inwardly in the space S to a point whereat its lower end is provided with a pin 20 extending transversely of the axis of the hanger, said pin having its opposed ends received in slots 22, 22

formed in spaced side plates 24, 24 of a lower mounting tain the ends of the pins 20 in position in the slots 22.

The bracket 26 is provided with other apertures radially inwardly of the slots 22, said other apertures receiv ing the opposite ends of pins 34 which in turn are secured to a counterweight, indicated generally at 36, and comprising a bar member 38 extending on both sides of the connection to the pin 34 and having on one side thereof a weight 40 and the other end thereof abutting the lower end of the hanger 18 as at 42. It will be noted that the pin 34 accommodates pivotal movement of the entire counterweight 36.

An additional pin or fulcrum 44 is positioned in opposed registered apertures in the plates 24, said pin 44 being located vertically above the pins 20 and 34 as is best seen in Figure 1.

Turning to Figure 2, which is a view similar to Figure 1 except that it illustrates the pusher structure provided in the arrangement. The pusher structure comprises a bracket 50 connected to the rim 8 preferably at a point adjacent the top thereof. An arcuate pusher arm 52 is pivotally connected as at 54 to the bracket 50, said arm 52 extending arcuately downwardly to a point whereat it physically engages the shoe 10 as at 56, and from this point of engagement arcuately, downwardly and inwardly under the roof 6. The lower extremity of the pusher arm is provided with a weight 58 so located that the pusher arm 52 is constantly urged outwardly and into engagement with the shoe. Under the action of the weight 5'8, the arcuate arm 52 tends to fulcrum against the shoe at 56 and exerts a force at pin 54 to urge the roof away from the shell 4. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the hangers previously described and the pusher described immediately above may be alternately located around the entire periphery of the roof and disposed in the space S previously described so that they coact to support the shoes and provide a centering force on the roof in the usual manner. Any alternate arrangement may be utilized depending on the requirements of the particular structure.

With many of the hanger arrangements used previously in the art, it has been found that as the roof 6 is urged out of a central location in the tank and approaches the tank shell in any particular area there is a tendency for the hanger to allow the upper edge of the seal shoe to move away from intimate contact with the tank shell. This causes an unsatisfactory, unwanted seal break at that point. Further, this breaking or pulling from the top of the shoe from the shell on prior art arrangements is found also to be aggravated during downward movement of the entire assembly in the tank.

Describing the operation of the seal arrangement, it will first be understood by those skilled in the art that the action of the arcuate pusher arms 52 is such as to exert an outward pressure on the related shoes 10 and to exert a centering effect on the roof 6. Turning to the hanger arrangement, we may first assume that in normal condition the hanger is as illustrated in Figure 1 with the pin 20 approximately centrally located in the slot 22.

Assuming a decrease in the space S under the uncentering action of the roof 6, it will be understood that the weight of and the connections between the several shoes 10 has the effect of keeping the brackets 14 at substantially horizontal positions. Hanger arms 18 are of fixed length, hence, as the distance S decreases the arms will tend to engage related pins 44 which act as fulcrum points causing the pin 20 to roll downwardly in slot 22 toward the bottom thereof, such downward movement being sufiicient to accommodate the more vertical position of the related arm 18 under this action. it will be remembered that the associated counterweight 36 engages the bottom of each arm 18 at 42, said counterweight being so proportioned from a pressure standpoint that it will admit just the proper amount of downward movement of the pin 2t} under the action described. Further, the counterweight, exerting its pressure on the lower end of the arm 18, is such that it causes an outward force component at the pivot connection 16 between the arm 18 and shoe 10 which insures a close fit of the shoe to the shell at the top edge of former.

Under the circumstance of roof movement away from the shell, thus increasing the space S in that area, it will be understood that a typical arm 18 tends to rotate away from the vertical and that the pressure on the arm by the counterweight 36 urges the pin 20 to move upwardly in the slot 22 until it is properly located with respect to the new position of the hanger arm. Again the counterweight continues to exert an outwardly directed force component at the pin 16 to maintain the top edge of the shoe in intimate contact with the shell.

When the roof 6 is moving upwardly in the tank, a frictional drag effect is impinged on the shoes 10. The counterweights 36 acting on the bottom of the arms 18 are so proportioned in relation to this effect that they will overcome the mentioned friction and maintain the shoes 10 in proper contact relation with the shell as above described.

During downward movement of the roof a frictional effect is impinged on the shoes 16 urging them relatively upwardly with respect to the roof. During this action the pins 20 are urged to move toward the top of their slots and the hangers 18 again fulcrum on the pins 44 whereby the combined action of the frictional drag as well as the force applied by counterweights 36 increases the outward force component at the pins 16 thereby maintaining a tight seal at the upper edge of the shoe under this action. Of course, should the roof tend to move oil center during its downward cycle, the above mentioned action also applies in this circumstance.

Thus it will be seen that the invention provides an improved hanger arrangement of simple and inexpensive construction and arranged to function in a positive and improved manner as described. It will also be understood that substantially all moving parts of the hanger are immersed in product stored in the tank thereby offering the many advantages incident therewith such as reduced corrosion and mal-function.

The invention as described is by way of illustration and not limitation and may be subject to various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hanger arrangement for use on a field storage tank having a floating roof therein defining with the tank an annular space, the combination of a seal shoe in the space and abutting the tank wall in horizontally opposed relation to the roof, a mounting bracket on the shoe and adjacent the top edge thereof, a hanger arm pivotally connected to the mounting bracket at the upper end thereof, said hanger arm being rigid in itself and angling downwardly and inwardly through said space, a supporting bracket connected to the floating roof adjacent the bottom thereof, an operative pin and slot connection between said bracket and the lower end of said arm, said pin and slot connection accommodating movement of the lower end of the arm upwardly and inwardly toward said roof and downwardly and outwardly toward said shoe, 2. fulcrum fixedly mounted in relation to the roof at a point spaced from the lower end thereof, said fulcrum being operative to limit relative rotative movement of the arm and roof toward each other, and pressure means movably mounted on the roof and engaging the arm to continuously exert an upward force thereon.

2. A hanger arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said pressure means comprises a bar pivoted intermediate its end to the roof, a counterweight on one end of said bar and at one side of said last mentioned pivot, the other end of said bar being in pressured engagement with the lower end of said arm.

3. A hanger arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said supporting bracket comprises spaced plates; and said pin and slot connection comprises elongated, aligned slots in the plates arranged to angle upwardly away from said shell; and a pin mounted in the lower end of said arm and received by said slots.

4. A hanger arrangement according to claim 3, wherein said fulcrum comprises a pin fixedly mounted to said spaced plates above said slots.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,611,504 Busse et a1. Sept. 23, 1952 2,685,982 Moyer Aug. 10, 1954 2,696,930 Moyer Dec. 14, 1954 2,784,863 Fabian Mar. 12, 1957 

